Hand brake



Sept. 5, 1933. FUCHS 1,925,240

HAND BRAKE Filed Sept. 4, 1930 Ftgz 6' 20? g 1 62222: K 5/ 47 fieruy llclia Wil /225.5

$1 4741; M %w y w Jig Patented Sept. 5, 1933 UNITED STATES HAND BRAKEHenry Fuchs, Chicago, Ill., assignor to W. H.

Miner, Inc., Chicago, 111., a corporation of Delaware ApplicationSeptember 4, 1930. Serial No. 479,637

8 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in hand brakes.

One object of the invention is to provide a hand brake mechanism of thepower multiplying type, especially adapted for use in connection withrailway cars, including power multiplying gear members for actuating achain winding drum, wherein quick release of the brake mechanism isobtained with free running of the chain winding drum by separation ofthe cooperating gear members, means being provided for holding said drumagainst movement in unwinding direction during separation of the gearsto prevent the danger of stripping of the gear teeth.

A further object of the invention is to provide in a mechanism of thecharacter indicated in the preceding paragraph, means actuated by theoperating means for separating the gears, which also, after the gearshave been separated, throws out of operation the locking means of thedrum.

Other objects of the invention will more clearly appear from thedescription and claims hereinafter following.

In the drawing, forming a part of this speci fication, Figure 1 is avertical, sectional view through my improved hand brake mechanism,illustrating the same applied to the vertical end wall of a railway car.Figure 2 is a vertical, sectional view corresponding substantially tothe line 2-2 of Figure 1. Figure 3 is a View similar to Figure 1illustrating a different embodiment of the invention. Figure 4 is afront elevational view of the brake mechanism illustrated in Figure 3.And Figure 5 is a detailed, front elevational view of certain operatinglever and locking mechanism illustrating a modification of the brakestructure shown in Figures 3 and *1.

Referring first to the construction illustratedin Figures 1 and 2, myimproved brake mechanism comprises broadly a chain winding drum A; agear B; a pinion C; an eccentric bearing sleeve means D for supportingthe operating shaft; a hand wheel E; an operating shaft F; a ratchet G;and a locking dog H.

The improved hand brake mechanism is preferably enclosed within ahousing which is secured to the vertical end wall 10 of the railway car.The housing is composed of front and back sec-- tions 11 and 12respectively, the back section being in the form of a platemember'having three securing lug members 13-43 thereon, one of said lugsbeing at the upper end of the plate and the remaining two projectinglaterally from said plate at the lower end thereof. The housing section11 is in the form of a cover member having a vertical front wall 14spaced from the member 12, side walls l515 and a top curved wall 16. Thehousing section 11 isalso provided with three securing lugs, which areindicated by 13, and register with the lugs 13 of the rear section 12.Two sections of the housing may be secured together by any suitablemeans and are herein shown as-secured together by rivets 17-47 extendingthrough the ears thereof and also through the end wall 10 of the car,thereby serving to fix the housing to said end wall.

The chain winding drum A is of substantially conical form, as mostclearly shown in Figure 1. and has a chain guide flange 18 at the largerend thereof. The brake chain, which is indicated by 19, has the innerend thereof secured to the chain winding drum by a pin 20 which extendsthrough the end link and alined openings in the flange 18 and anoutstanding lug 21 on said drum. The chain 19 is connected to the brakemechanism proper in the usual manner, and the housing is open at thebottom, as shown in Figure 1, to accommodate the chain for movement. Thewinding drum A is rotatably supported on a cylin' drical shaft member 22having its opposite ends secured in alined openings provided in thefront and rear walls of the housing. As shown, these openings arereinforced by raised portions surrounding the same and projectinginwardly from. the walls of the housing.

The gear B is preferably formed integral with the drum and forms a partof a hub extension 23 at the larger end of the drum. Inwardly' of thegear B, between the same and the flange 18 of the drum A, the hub 23 isformed with an annular flange section which is provided with ratchetteeth, said flange forming the ratchet member G.

The pinion C, which meshes with the gear B, is fixed to the operatingshaft F, which has the hand wheel E secured to the outer end thereof ina well known manner. The operating shaft F is supported in the eccentricbearing sleeve means D, which comprises a pair of separate sleevesections 24-24 having their opposite ends journaled in alined bearingopenings provided in the front and rear walls of the housing. As shownin Figure 1, the bearing opening of the front wall which receives thecorresponding sleeve 24 extends entirely through said wall and isreinforced on the inner side by an annular flange surrounding saidopening. The bearing opening in the rear wall is in the form of a socketprovided in an inwardly projecting boss on the platelike section 12. Theoperating shaft, which extends through the two sleeve sections 24--24,is headed at the rear end, said head being disposed in a pocket providedin the plate 12 and the shank thereof extending through an openingconcentric with the bearing opening of said plate. The two sleevesections 24 have an operating lever member formed integral therewith,said lever being indicated by 25, and as shown in Figure 2, being forkedat the inner end, as indicated at 26, said forked portion having themembers thereof spanning the pinion C and formed integral with the innerends of the two sleeve sections 24. As will be evident, when the lever25 is oscillated, the eccentric sleeve sections 24 will be moved inunison therewith, thereby through the eccentricity of said sleevecausing the operating shaft and the pinion C to be lifted. As mostclearly shown in Figure 2, the lever 25 projects outwardly of thehousing and the side wall thereof is slotted, as indicated at 27, toaccommodate said lever for swinging movement.

The locking dog H, which cooperates with the ratchet member G, is in theform of an elongated pivoted lever member having an operating handle atthe outer end thereof. The inner end of the lever is pivoted to the sidewall of the housing, as indicated at 28, Between its ends, the lever isprovided with a depending tooth 29, whichcooperates with the ratchetteeth of the member G, as clearly illustrated in Figure 2. The lockingdog member H has an upstanding yoke section 30 formed integraltherewith, said yoke section enclosing the sleeve section 24 to the rearof the pinion C. As will be evident, when the lever 25 is pulledupwardly and the eccentric sleeves 2424 rotated, the locking dog H willalso be lifted by engagement of the eccentric portion 124 of the rearsleeve 24 with the yoke thereof. The parts are preferably soproportioned that operation of the eccentric sleeves 24-24 will lift theoperating shaft F to a sufficient extent to disengage the pinion C fromthe gear B before the locking dog H is lifted by said eccentric sleevemembers to disengage the tooth thereof from the ratchet member, therebymaintaining the chain winding drum in fixed position while the gears arebeing separated and preventing possible stripping of the gear teeth dueto relative rotation of the gears while being separated. V

In the operation of my improved hand brake mechanism, as illustrated inFigures 1 and 2, in a chain tightening operation, the hand wheel E isrotated in a clockwise direction, thereby rotating the pinion C whichmeshes with the gear B, driving the latter in a contra-clockwisedirection and winding the chain on the drum A. During this operation,the drum will be held against backward movement by the locking dog Hengaging the ratchet member G. In order to release the brakes, theoperator raises the lever 25, thereby rotating the eccentric sleeves2424 and raising the shaft F together with the pinion C, therebydisengaging the teeth of the pinion from the teeth of the gear B. As thesleeves 2424 are rotated, and after the gears have been separated, thelocking dog H is lifted through the yoke member thereof, therebyreleasing said dog and permitting free rotation of the chain windingdrum and quick release of the brakes. In case it is found desirable toback up or ease off the brakes, the pinion C is left in engagement withthe gear B and the locking dog H manually operated, lifting the same outof engagement with the ratchet member, thus permitting the opera tor tocontrol the unwinding of the chain through the hand wheel E, which is atsuch a time operatively connected to the chain winding drum.

Referring next to the embodiment of the invention illustrated in Figures3 and 4, the brake mechanism proper is mounted within a housing in allrespects similar to the housing hereinbefore described and said housingis secured to the end wall of the car in a similar manner. The innerhousing section is indicated by 112 and the outer cover section by 111.

The improved brake mechanism proper, as illustrated in Figures 3 and 4,comprises broadly a chain winding drum A; a gear B; a pinion C; a handwheel E; an operating shaft F; a ratchet member G; a locking dog H; andan eccentric supporting member K for the drum.

The chain winding drum A is of substantially the same design as the drumA hereinbefore described and has the brake chain 119 secured thereto inthe same manner. The drum A has the gear member B formed integraltherewith, and outwardly of the gear member carries the ratchet memberG, which is also integral there with. The chain winding drum A isrotatably supported on the eccentric supporting member K, which hascylindrical end portions at the front and rear thereof journaled inalined bearing openings in the front and rear walls of the housing. Thecylindrical front end portion, which is indicated by 31, projectsthrough the front wall I of the housing. The portion of the supportingmember K which extends through the chain winding drum A, the gear memberB and the ratchet member G, is of larger diameter than the end portionsthereof and is eccentric with retherefrom. The locking dog H ispivotally supported on the front wall of the housing and has anoperating handle member 33 exterior to the housing and a tooth 34interior of the housing cooperating with the teeth of the ratchet memberG to normally hold the chain winding drum '1 A against backwardrotation, that is rotation in chain unwinding direction. The trippingfinger or lug 32 is so located that when the supporting member K isrotated on its axis it will engage the projecting tooth portion 34 ofthe locking dog, thereby releasing the dog from the ratchet member G andmaintaining the same in such position until the supporting member K isoperated in a reverse direction. The projecting end portion 31 of thesupporting member K has an operating lever 35 fixed thereto, theoperating lever being weighted at the inner end, as indicated at 36.Outstanding stop lugs 3737 are provided at opposite sides of the housingwhich cooperate with'the lever 35 to limit its swinging movement. Theoperating shaft F, to which the pinion C is fixed, has its opposite endsjournaled in alined openings in the front and rear walls of the housingand has the operating hand wheel E fixed to the projecting outer endthereof. The pinion C normally meshes with the gear B to effect rotationof the chain winding drum when the hand wheel D is rotated in the properdirection.

. In order to release the brakes, the operating lever 35 is swung in acontra-clockwise direction, as viewed in Figure 4, thereby imparting alike rotation to the supporting member K and moving the chain windingdrum and gear B away from the pinion C, thereby disengaging the teethof. these members so as to permit relative rotation thereof. After thegears have been disengaged, the trip finger 32 engages the locking dogH, thereby freeing the same from the ratchet member G and completelyreleasing the brakes by permitting free rotation of thechain Windingdrum. As will be evident, the weighted portion 36 of the operating levermaintains the handle end of said lever engaged with either of the lugsIn case it is found desirable to back up or ease off the brakes, thelocking dog H is manually actuated while the gears are in engagement,thereby releasing the dog from the ratchet member and permitting theoperator to manipulate the hand wheel E while the brakes are beingreleased.

Referring next to the modified form of operating means illustrated inFigure 5, it is pointed out that the construction of the brake mechanismis precisely the same as that illustrated in Figures 3 and i, theoperating lever, which is indicated by 40, being rotatably mounted onthe projecting end portion 31 of the eccentric supporting member K. Asshown in Figure 5, the projecting end portion 31 of the member K has acollar 41 fixed thereto, on which the lever is rotatably supported. Thecollar has an outstanding lug 42, which operates in a slot or opening 43provided in the hub portion of the operating lever 40. As will beevident, certain amount of lost motion is thus provided between thelever 46 and the collar ll before the lug 42 will be engaged so as torotate the supporting member K. A locking latch 44 is pivotallysupported above the collar ll, and has a locking notch 45 in the loweredge thereof engaging with the lug 42 of the collar, thereby holding thecollar and supporting member K- against rotation in either direction.The latch member has a projecting tail portion 46, which has an inclinedbottom edge with which a pin member outstanding from the lever 40cooperates. The pin member 4'? is so disposed that when the lever 40 isturned to the extent of the lost motion between the same and the memberK, the latch will be lifted out of engagement with the lug l2, therebypermitting rotation of the member K by the lever 40. In order to guidethe pin l? in its movement, the notch of the latch member has webportion at the rear thereof which forms a continuation of the lowerguide edge of saidlatch member;

In releasing the brakes, the lever 40 is operated in a contra-clockwisedirection, thereby disengaging the latch, as hereinbefore described, andafter the lost motion has been taken up between the lever and the collar41, rotating the member 1 in the manner hereinbefore described inconnection with ures 3 and 4 to disengage the gear .8 from the pinion Cand finally also unlock the locking dog H.

I have herein shown and described what I now consider the preferredmanner of carrying out my invention, but the same is merely illustrativeand I contemplate all changes and modifications that come within thescope of the claims ap-' pended hereto.

I claim:

1. In a hand brake mechanism, the combination with a rotatable chainwinding drum; of a gear fixed to said drum; ratchet means fixed to drum;a locking dog cooperating with the ratcet means; manually controlledmeans for releasing said dog; a rotatable operating shaft; an eccentricbearing support for said shaf a driving pinion rotatable with said shaftand normally meshing with said gear for rotating the chain winding drum;manually actuated lever means for rotating said eccentric bearingsupport to displace the operating shaft and pinion with respect to thedrum and disengage said pinion and gear; and operative connecting meansbetween said eccentric bearing support and manually controlled means foractuating the latter to release said dog subsequently to the separationof said pinion and gear.

2. In a: hand brake. mechanism, the combination with a rotary operatingshaft; of a pinion fixed to said shaft; a chain winding drum; a ratchetfixed to said drum; a gear rotatable with said drum and normally meshingwith said pinion; rotatable eccentric supporting means for said drum; alocking dog cooperating with said ratchet for holding said drum againstrotation in unwinding direction; manually controlled means for rotatingsaid eccentric supporting means to move said gear away from said pinionand disengage the same therefrom; and means actuated by rotation of saideccentric supporting means for disengaging said dog from the ratchetmember to allow free rotation of the chain winding drum to release thebrakes.

3. In a hand brake mechanism, the combination. with a rotary operatingshaft; of a pinion I fixed to said shaft; a rotary chain winding drumhaving a gear fixed thereto and normally meshing with said pinion; areleasable locking dog for holding said drum against rotation in anunwinding direction; a supporting shaft for said drum provided with aneccentric bearing portion on which the drum is rotatable; manuallyactuated lever means for oscillating said supporting shaft to move saidgear away from said pinion to disengage the same and permit freerotation thereof; a trip finger fixed to said supporting shaft andoperatively engaging said dog upon rotation of said shaft to release thedog and permit free rotation of the chain winding drum to effect releaseof the brakes.

4. In a hand brake mechanism, the combination with a rotary operatingshaft; of a pinion fixed to said shaft; a chain winding drum; a ratchetfixed to said drum; a gear rotatable with said drum and normally meshingwith said pinion; rotatable eccentric supporting means for said drum; alocking dog cooperating with said ratchet for holding said drum againstrotation in unwinding direction; means for locking said eccentricsupporting means against rotation; manually controlled means unlockingsaid locking means and rotating said eccentric supporting means to movesaid gear away from said pinion and disengage the same therefrom; andmeans actuated by rotation of said eccentric supporting means fordisengaging said dog from the ratchet member to allow free rotation ofthe chain winding drum and release the brakes.

5. In a hand brake mechanism, the combination with a rotary operatingshaft; of a pinion fixed to said shaft; a rotary chain winding drumhaving a gear fixed thereto and normally meshing with said pinion; areleasable locking dog for 1 holding said drum against rotation in anunwinding direction; a supporting shaft for said drum provided with aneccentric bearing portion on which the drumis rotatable; a releasablelatch for locking said supporting shaft against rota-v tion; a manuallyactuated lever member having a lost motion connection with saidsupporting shaft, said lever member having means for tripping said latchduring relative movement of said lever and shaft to unlock said shaft,said lever member rotating said supporting shaft after the lost motionhas been taken up to move said gear away from the pinion to disengagethe same and permit relative rotation thereof; and a tripping lug fixedto said supporting shaft and engaging said dog upon rotation of saidshaft to release the dog and permit free rotation of the drum to efiectrelease of the brakes.

6. In a hand brake mechanism, the combination with a chain-winding drum;of intermeshing power-multiplying gears for rotating said drum, saidgears being rotatable about parallel axes; means for holding said drumagainst rotation in an unwinding direction including a member rotatablewith the drum and a displaceable looking member cooperating with saidfirst named member; means for laterally separating said gears todisengage the same; means for displacing said locking member todisengage the same from the cooperating member to release said holdingmeans; and a single operating member for actuating both of said'lastnamed means to permit free rotation of the chain-winding drum to releasethe brakes.

'7. In a hand brake mechanism, the combination with a rotarychain-winding drum; of a ratchet wheel fixed to the drum; areleasable'dog for holding said drum against rotation in an unwindingdirection; a gear member fixed to the drum and rotatable therewith; anoperating pinion meshing with said gear, said pinion and gear beingrotatable about parallel axes; manually controlled means for laterallyseparating said pinion and gear; and means actuated by the operation ofsaid manually controlled means in separating the pinion and gear forfreeing said dog from the ratchet wheel to permit free rotation of thechain-winding drum and release of the brakes.

8. In a hand brake mechanism, the combination with a rotarychain-winding drum; of intermeshing power-multiplying gears for rotatingsaid drum to wind the chain thereon, said gears being rotatable aboutparallel axes; a ratchet Wheel rotatable with the drum about an axisparallel to the axes of rotation of said gears; releasable means forholding said ratchet Wheel against rotation in chain-unwindingdirection; manually controlled means for disengaging said gears bylateral separation thereof to permit relative rotation of the same; andmeans actuated by said manually controlled means for laterallywithdrawing said holding means from the ratchet Wheel subsequent todisengagement of said gears to permit free rotation of the chain-windingdrum and release of the brakes.

HENRY FUCHS.

